Psychoneuroendocrinology is a rapidly evolving field which offers considerable potential in the investigation of psychiatric disorders. Progress in the field, however, is uneven. An international society exists which holds annual meetings, and numerous other psychoneuroendocrine meetings take place, but none of these represent efforts to critically evaluate the field. It is proposed to hold a symposium to provide a critical evaluation of the field making use of a point and counterpoint technique. One individual will review a specific topic, a second individual(s) will evaluate it and yet a third will evaluate and report on the free discussion. For each of the major areas the following issues will be discussed, as applicable: a) description and classification of the disorder (this applies to affective disorders, schizophrenia and anorexia nervosa), b) description of endocrine changes that have been reported, c) interpretation of the endocrine findings in terms of the most up-to-date knowledge of neuroendocrinology and neuroscience, and d) significance of the findings in relation to pathogenesis of the disorder and suggestions for future directions. Interaction will be facilitated by a) structured critical evaluation of the topics, and b) optimizing facilities. Proceedings will be published to maximize the audience.